JV4MVP wrote:Notanoob wrote:Hey, can anyone give me a quick scouting report on Ukraine v. Croatia? I'm curious because I'm Ukrainian myself, and I haven't been able to watch any of these games live.
I've watched 2 Ukraine games. Here are my observations:
- They rely on
American Pooh Jeter's outside shooting. He has good range but doesn't drive to the basket as well as MCalleb or Rice, and he isn't that pesky of a defender.
- Gladyr is a great 3 pt shooter when he is set. Once he dribbles he gets into trouble.
- Ukraine is coached by legendary NBA coach Mike Fratello. In addition to hearing him curse in English in the huddle you can witness his solid defensive tactics (trapping at half court)
- The bigs seem to play dirty, at least against Lithuania. They threw elbow and so forth.
- Center Natyzhko has the ability to make a open 3.
Regarding Croatia:
- Bogdanovic is a good outside shooter and has a midrange game, including posting up. He is bulky for his position and uses his size well to get into scoring positions. Just a monster scorer.
- Tomic is tall and skinny but is very skilled at C. He is arguably a top 3 C in this tournament.
- Roko Ukic had a short NBA career and runs the point. He has struggled shooting in this tournament but is always dangerous.
- Croatia in general is very balanced with a decent bench. Ppl underrated them and shouldn't be surprised at their record.
- Dario Saric is their future but his minutes have decreased since the beginning of the tournament. His production is still impressive for a 19 year old.
I think Croatia has a 80% chance of winning. They're better inside and on the perimeter. Bogdanovic may be able to score at will. Their players are more experienced at the Euroleague level. Ukraine will have to play a perfect game to have a chance, perhaps use their physicality to disturb Croatia.
I don't think Tomic is a top 3 Center in this tournament, Gasol and Krstic are the top 2, then it's Bourousis, Valanciunas, Tomic and Begic ( in a tournament where Gortat and Asik looked like hot garbage...), but he's very skilled, and if he had better lateral mobility he'd be playing in the NBA.
Croatia's best players so far, IMO, are Draper and Bogdanovic. Draper is a great defender and he gives the team consistency. Bogdanovic is a great scorer, and he has the tools to be a good defender if Kidd and the Nets can get him to develop his defensive skills.
Saric was playing great against Greece, and I don't get why Repesa didn't use him in the 4th quarter, when Fotsis and Kaimakoglou were killing Zoric/Rudez and Tomic/Rudez. I also didn't get why Trinchieri buried Perperoglou in the bench and why Bourousis, the best big man on the court, wasn't playing with Fotsis to close the game.
Ukraine has good players, lot of length, but they are a bit inconsistent and lack killer instinct. They are missing some of their best players, also, but if Croatia isn't playing at their best, Ukraine has the players to knock them out of the tournament.
The quarterfinals will be great: Serbia vs Spain, Lithuania vs Italy, Slovenia vs France are going to be epic games. Spain should be favorites, but Serbia has Krstic and a plethora of young talented kids, Bogdan Bogdanovic is going to be a Super Star. Lithuania has an advantage over Italy inside, but italian wingers are shooting lights out and you never know. France has probably a better squad, but the Dragic brothers and home court will make it very interesting. Croatia has, on paper, an easier path to semifinals, but they better be focused.
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